Durian buffet becomes a sensation in Ho Chi Minh City.

Open for only two days a weekend, a durian buffet in Ho Chi Minh City attracted nearly 400 customers, requiring the organizers to prepare 3 tons of durian.

The durian buffet organized by Fruits T&T attracted 400 customers in just two weekend days. Photo: Anh Nguyen.

Over the weekend of May 30th and 31st, Fruits T&T (Vuon Lai Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), a fruit store belonging to Vina T&T Company, organized a buffet featuring export-quality Ri6 durian. This was the second year the event was held. Each customer could enjoy unlimited durian for one hour, at a cost of 229,000 VND per person, and the buffet was only open from 10 AM to 7 PM.

400 reservations made for the durian buffet.

Thanks to the program's popularity, the business announced that all tickets had been sold out. According to Tri Thức - Znews , at 10 am on May 31st, the number of people flocking to the Fruits T&T store to participate in the durian buffet surged dramatically, with many even sitting in their seats waiting 15-20 minutes beforehand.

Traveling over 8 km from Thanh My Tay ward to Vuon Lai ward to participate, Thuy Duong and her husband said they were very satisfied with the quality of Ri6 durian at the event. She said her husband is a durian enthusiast, so they both decided to register to participate. Ms. Duong commented that the durian was fragrant, creamy, of consistent quality, and worth the price. If Fruits T&T continues to organize the buffet next year, she hopes there will be more varieties of durian to give customers more choices.

Thuy and her husband traveled over 8 km to enjoy a durian buffet. Photo: Anh Nguyen.

Similarly, Ms. Sau Nguyen and her friend also made time to visit the store and participate in the durian buffet. Ms. Sau highly appreciated the quality of Ri6 durian, but she was also concerned about the slightly high participation price while the price of this type of durian on the market is trending downwards.

Explaining the issue, Mr. Tran Kim Son, Head of Marketing at Vina T&T, said that the current buffet price is reasonable compared to the export-standard Ri6 durian. "Our company also has a team of technicians who inspect the durian before serving it to customers. The team will advise on whether the durian segments are perfectly ripe, soft, or moderately sweet, all according to each customer's individual preferences," Mr. Son said. This is also a difference compared to other durian buffet programs on the market.

Ri6 durian, meeting export standards, is carefully selected by the store. Photo: Anh Nguyen.

Besides fresh, peeled durian, this year's program also features items like durian avocado and Thai dessert to attract customers of all ages.

With the number of customers increasing by more than 50% compared to last year, the company had to prepare nearly 3 tons of durian over the two weekend days and allocate additional staff at the counters to assist diners. At the peeling counter, 2-3 staff members continuously checked for ripeness, peeled durian, and replenished the buffet area.

According to Mr. Son, through the durian buffet program, the company aims to gradually bring export-quality fruit closer to Vietnamese consumers. In the future, Vina T&T will implement more projects related to Vietnam's famous export agricultural products.

Tightening quality control is the "key" to resolving the durian crisis.

According to the Government Newspaper, after a period of inspection bottlenecks and sharply falling purchase prices, the durian market is showing signs of recovery as customs clearance gradually improves. However, experts believe the challenge remains in controlling quality right from the growing region, standardizing production, and reorganizing the supply chain, so that this multi-billion dollar industry can develop sustainably in increasingly fierce international competition.

Faced with cadmium residue pressure, inspection bottlenecks, and the risk of losing export markets, Vietnam's durian industry is entering a period of significant restructuring.

Many localities in the Mekong Delta are beginning to shift their focus from increasing acreage to improving quality, ensuring transparency in traceability, and building more stable supply chains. Experts believe this is a necessary path if they want to maintain the position of this billion-dollar export industry.

In Dong Thap , initial positive signs have emerged after testing and export activities gradually resumed.

According to Mr. Vo Tan Loi, Chairman of the Dong Thap Province Durian Association, the current purchase price for Grade A durian is over 50,000 VND/kg, while Grade B durian ranges from 35,000 to 45,000 VND/kg. At these prices, many farmers are starting to make a profit again after a period of hardship due to the volatile durian market.

Mr. Le Ha Luan, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment (ARD) of Dong Thap province, said that the locality is tightening the management of planting area codes, publicly disclosing cultivation processes, and increasing product traceability. He argued that modern agriculture cannot continue to operate in a spontaneous manner but must function within a unified, transparent, and organized system.

In Vinh Long, the standardization of durian growing areas is also being accelerated. According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Vinh Long province, by 2025, the entire province will have 8,140 hectares of durian, of which the area under production will reach 4,122 hectares with a yield of nearly 62,217.3 tons.

The locality currently has 72 durian growing area codes for export to China, covering an area of ​​1,611.36 hectares; of which 58 codes are active and 14 codes are temporarily suspended or revoked.

In addition, Vinh Long also has 14 packaging facility codes and 22 inland growing area codes covering an area of ​​339 hectares.

Source: https://znews.vn/buffet-sau-rieng-gay-sot-o-tphcm-post1655782.html